The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee withdrew its investigative demands against Northwestern University and the Law School's Bluhm Legal Clinic program during an emergency federal court hearing in Chicago Wednesday. The decision came just one day after Bedi and Cohn filed a lawsuit asserting that the Committee's investigation violated their First Amendment rights to free speech, association, petition, and academic freedom, along with their clients' Fifth and Sixth Amendment protections.
"Every day, my students and I defend the constitutional rights of people targeted by state violence," said Bedi. "I filed this suit to defend my clients' rights to representation, my students' rights to learn, and my right to teach."
The Committee had specifically targeted Bedi for her work on progressive legal causes, which it characterized as "troubling" in its original investigation. The professors' legal victory represents not only a personal win but also a broader defense of principles fundamental to legal education and practice.
Cohn emphasized the importance of collective action in the face of such challenges.
"Uniting to support the fundamental rights of all people can still be done even in these turbulent times,” she said. “We hope others will join this effort—this legal challenge is far from over."
The Committee's investigation appears connected to broader Trump Administration efforts to restrict university funding. On April 8, the administration froze $790 million in federal funding to Northwestern that supports research and teaching programs, including what the professors describe as "essential research and life-saving medicine."
Despite the victory in court, both professors indicated they plan to continue their lawsuit to defend academic principles they believe remain under threat.
Bedi is represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and several cooperating counsels, while Cohn is represented by attorneys from the People's Law Office and Amanda Yarusso.
